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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24751642">The Twist</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/onetiredboy/pseuds/onetiredboy'>onetiredboy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Penumbra Podcast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>2 fics in 1 day? perhaps i am unstoppable, Betrayal, Other, i DONT THINK this will be canon im just going off, peter and juno fight, peter does some bad things, spoilers for 3.14, the angst in this fic is astronomical</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:21:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,343</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24751642</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/onetiredboy/pseuds/onetiredboy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>SPOILERS FOR THE NEW EP</p><p>Peter has always lived a life governed, at its core, by fear. Fear, and the instinct of survival.</p><p>No matter what, he must do what he has to to survive.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel, or is it - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Twist</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is just a spin on how a betrayal scenario could go bc the ep inspired me and i already had this prompt in my list of things to write, its not necessarily a prediction.</p><p>also, i could continue this!!!! but i. also dont want to make promises bc fuck i am. so busy and also have a million other fic ideas and also just never concentrate, so like. if i do, itll be a fun surprise for both of us!</p><p>cw: juno and peter both say/do regrettable things here. the reason i want to continue the fic is mostly to address that, but again,,, it depends on my brain being able to work.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Juno wakes up to a rapid flurry of movement in his room.</p><p>“Wh—hello?” he almost falls out of bed, tangled up in the sheets as he is. When he gets himself upright, he focuses on Nureyev rushing around his room, “What’s going on?”</p><p>Nureyev doesn’t look relieved or calm or like he’s just sneaking in for a late night visit. There’s a set determination around his features Juno doesn’t like the look of, “Get dressed,” he says, “We’re going.”</p><p>“Going?” Juno asks, “What—?”</p><p>“I’ve already packed most of your things,” Nureyev says, “We need to leave, now.”</p><p>“Woah, woah, woah, hold on,” Juno stumbles over himself as Nureyev stops in the middle of his room glancing around as if to check for anything he missed, “Leaving? Where to?”</p><p>“I’ll explain once we get going,” Nureyev says, and slings a bag over his shoulder, turning to walk out of Juno’s room, “Come on.”</p><p>When Juno doesn’t move, Nureyev grabs his arm and tugs. Juno stumbles along after Nureyev, “You gonna explain what’s happening?”</p><p>“No time,” Nureyev mutters. He starts leading him towards what Juno recognises is the nearest escape pod, and when they turn the corner, something shifts in the bag over Nureyev’s shoulder.</p><p>“Holy shit,” Juno says, and pulls his arm out of Nureyev’s grip, “Is that the blade? And the map?”</p><p>Nureyev stops still. Juno’s heart thuds in his ears.</p><p>“Nureyev,” he says slowly, “You better tell me what’s going on, <em>now</em>.”</p><p>Nureyev hesitates for a moment. Then he turns around. “Juno, there are things I haven’t had the time to be able to tell you. I know what this looks like, but believe me when I say that you and I will be in very grave danger if you don’t just do what I tell you.”</p><p>“Excuse me?” Juno steps back from him, “W—You can’t just tell me this out of the blue, Nureyev. Did you sell us out?”</p><p>Nureyev sucks in a breath, “Everything I did, I did to protect you. Juno, it’ll all make sense in a moment, I promise you I can explain. But unless someone very powerful gets a delivery very soon, I can’t guarantee our safety anymore.”</p><p>“When you say ‘<em>our</em>’, you’re talking you and me,” Juno says, “But not the rest of the crew?”</p><p>Nureyev doesn’t answer that. He looks at his watch, “We have to go.”</p><p>“No,” Juno says.</p><p>“You don’t have a choice,” Nureyev says, “This is the only way.”</p><p>“Are you kidding me? How can you tell that?”</p><p>“Just trust me.”</p><p>Juno’s voice shakes when he speaks, “Don’t you see what you’re doing?”</p><p>Nureyev’s hands clench at the straps of the bag over his shoulder. He shakes his head exasperatedly, “Finding a way out of an impossible situation?” he asks. His voice has gone high and tight, and it gets more so with each word, “Trying to help you – <em>us – </em>keep us together?”</p><p>Juno steps back again, “Do you honestly think I’d agree to betray everybody else for you?”</p><p>“Juno,” Nureyev says, and just a little bit of his anxiousness starts to seep through, “It doesn’t have to be like this. We do this little thing, and you and I can have our happy ending. It’ll be alright!”</p><p>“Listen to yourself,” Juno pleads. His face is wet, “You <em>have </em>to know what this <em>sounds like</em>! You’re not doing this for <em>us</em>, Peter.”</p><p>Peter huffs out a breath, “You don’t understand. That’s fine. But all I’m <em>asking </em>is for you to trust me. You trust me, don’t you, Juno? This will all make sense once we get out of here.”</p><p>“Talking me into trusting you, waiting for the last moment to spring your goddamn plan on me, trying to convince me it’s all for the greater good instead of your own selfish reasons. <em>lying </em>to me—”</p><p>“I never lied—”</p><p>“Not telling the truth then! Same difference,” Juno shouts, “Did you ever even fucking love me? Or was that just part of your long fucking con?”</p><p>“I <em>love </em>you,” Nureyev hisses out, “Can’t you see that? Can’t you see what I’m willing to do to ensure your safety?”</p><p>“Jesus Christ, fuck! Listen to yourself! You sound exactly like him!” Juno fists his hands in his hair. Then he calms down. Leans back, squares his shoulders. “Whatever,” he snarls, “I guess it’s really true what they say, huh? Like father, like son.”</p><p>Nureyev freezes. Something cold and murderous descends over his face, and then he lifts his chin and stares down at Juno, “Is that how it is, then?” he asks. “Are you going to drive a knife through my back like I drove one through his?”</p><p>Juno closes his eyes. Then he shakes his head, “No. No, Nureyev, I’m not. Because I’m not like you. I’m not a fucking monster.”</p><p>Something in Nureyev visibly breaks, and Juno knows he’s pulled on unfair strings. But he sets his jaw, not willing to cave in.</p><p>Nureyev’s hands shake when he holds them at his sides, “I see.”</p><p>“Look, I’m sorry,” Juno blurts out, “That was cruel. But—”</p><p>“No need to apologise, Juno, you’ve made your opinion on the matter perfectly clear—”</p><p>“You don’t have to <em>do </em>this,” Juno pleads. His voice breaks with it, “Nureyev, we can find another way, we can keep you safe, we can… I don’t know! Something!”</p><p>“What exactly do you propose, Juno? I have enemies more powerful than anyone on this ship has <em>ever </em>encountered before. And if I don’t do this, they will <em>kill</em> me. And not outright, no. They will release what they know to officials and I will be <em>hunted</em>, Juno. Hunted down like a dog until they starve me out and I get tortured to death for my crimes. Is that what you want?”</p><p>He sighs heavily, “I know what this will do to the rest of the crew. But they will survive. I will not. I’m giving you a chance to come with me, Juno. Working together, we could do what we can to help the others once we are safely away from here. I cannot do that alone.”</p><p>They stare at each other for a long moment. Juno tries to find words for what he feels, but it’s not until his gaze alights on a hickey on Peter’s neck – fuck, one Juno put there himself eight fucking hours ago – that everything he feels starts to fully rush in. He feels sick.</p><p>“I trusted you,” Juno says, his voice breaking. His eye fills with tears and overflows, “Jesus Christ, Nureyev. When I told you that I loved you, when I told you what those words <em>mean </em>for me, did you even feel a second of remorse? Did you blink for even a second?”</p><p>“Yes,” Nureyev breathes without hesitation, “Of course I did. I never said this choice was easy for me, Juno, but—”</p><p>“When I told you about my history,” Juno continues, “When I told you about all the times I’ve been manipulated, and used, and <em>hurt… </em>when I told you that for the first time in my fucking life, I was with someone I felt safe with. Did you even stop and think about what you were doing?”</p><p>“We can still be safe,” Peter’s voice cracks too, and he steps towards Juno. “Juno, this isn’t fair. This is my life—”</p><p>“It’s my life, too!” Juno shouts, “It’s not just on you, Nureyev! You don’t just get to be the one who saves himself and has the lady fall into his arms. This isn’t a stream, and you’re not the fucking main character, here.”</p><p>When Juno looks at him again, he can see tears track down Nureyev’s face. He’s still the picture of perfect composure, as though he hasn’t even noticed himself crying. “They’ll kill me,” he says.</p><p>“They’ll kill <em>us</em>,” Juno’s voice comes out hoarse, “Nureyev, if you leave us here, they’ll kill us. And there’s not even anything to say they won’t <em>still </em>come after you.”</p><p>“Us?” Nureyev asks, and Juno shakes his head.</p><p>“You don’t get it, do you? I’m not coming with you, Nureyev.”</p><p>Nureyev’s jaw clenches. He glances around the room like a cornered animal, “You have to. Juno, please, you can’t make me choose between my life and—”</p><p>“I can, actually,” Juno says, “And I am. So you better make your choice quick, Nureyev, because I’m going to go tell Buddy what you’re doing. It’s down to you whether she finds you here or not.”</p><p>There’s a second of pause before Juno turns his back on Nureyev. A final act of trust in him – that his guarantee of a smooth escape isn’t worth more to him than sinking a knife between the blades of Juno’s shoulders.</p><p>Juno grits his teeth, and turns around.</p><p>“Juno,” Nureyev pleads when he does, “Juno, <em>please. Please</em>. Don’t make me do this, <em>please.</em>”</p><p>But he makes no moves towards him. Juno only walks faster, wiping his eyes on the back of his wrist as he leaves the room.</p>
<hr/><p>Buddy Aurinko isn’t surprised to see a teary-eyed Juno Steel at her door in the dead of night. She’d hoped things wouldn’t come to this, but she’s not at all surprised.</p><p>“So he went through with it,” Buddy sighs when Juno tells her, sitting on the edge of her bed with the sheets still rumpled around her.</p><p>For all his experience, Juno’s heartbreak shows on his face as obviously as a teenager’s, before he twists it into a scowl, “You knew?”</p><p>Buddy sighs.</p><p>Peter Ransom is a complicated creature. One that has so deftly severed his ability to trust that she’d long ago understood he was likely to feel as though he had to face things alone regardless of the family she tried to build around him.</p><p>To Juno, though, she says, “Children who grow up making choices on the basis of survival tend not to learn to kick the habit as adults. Faced with debts and an instinct like that, I had a feeling we might see an uglier side of your Peter Ransom sooner or later.”</p><p>“You never thought—” Juno’s voice breaks, and he clears his throat, “You never thought to warn a lady first?”</p><p>“I couldn’t be sure, darling. There was no reason to sew distrust in your relationship when he hadn’t proven himself to be falling back into old habits just yet,” she stands from the bed with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Juno.”</p><p>Juno shakes his head, “Whatever,” and twists away when she tries to reach for him, “Doesn’t matter now. What matters is whether or not we still have the chance to catch him.”</p><p>She doesn’t want to voice her thoughts on the likelihood of that. Instead, she takes the lead, and marches to the room that Juno and Peter had had their little fight.</p><p>“He can’t be gone,” Juno mutters under his breath as he follows. The poor thing looks on the verge of a panic attack, “Not after everything, all our nights together, our—<em>us</em>. He can’t be gone.”</p><p>But the room that they walk into is empty.</p><p>“No,” Juno says, stepping past her further into the middle of the room. “No, no, no…”</p><p>And Buddy sees it. The tiniest shift in one of the shadows on the wall.</p><p>Something else about Peter Ransom: despite everything he may think himself, in his heart, he’s still a scared little orphan from the Outer Rim who wants to believe he can belong to something.</p><p>Buddy rushes forwards and collects Juno in her arms. He tries to push her away at first, but she manoeuvres herself to brush her lips against his ear. “He’s watching,” she whispers, “Show him what he means to you.”</p><p>Juno stiffens in her arms for a moment. Then his arms tighten around her waist, and he tucks his face into her shoulder as he breaks into a sob.</p><p>“Oh, Juno,” Buddy sympathises immediately, turning her own face into him. Juno’s sobs start small but quickly grow, until his stocky frame is shaking all over with the force of it. “Shh, darling, it’s alright.”</p><p>Juno tries to speak a few times, but he seems unable, so she moves gently with him until she has him sitting on the floor, crying into her arms.</p><p>“I know how you feel,” she says, loud enough that she knows the shadow in the corner of the room will hear her. “I’d been rather fond of him. I’d almost come to see him as something of my son.”</p><p>Juno breaks away from her and buries his head into his hands. Buddy rubs an arm over his back, “I loved him, too, in my own way,” she says, and surprises herself with the prick of tears in her organic eye. “We all did.”</p><p>“After this was all over,” Juno says into his hands, voice stretched and watery with his sobs, “I was going to ask him to settle down with me. I wanted a life with him.”</p><p>Buddy leans her head against Juno’s, and holds him while he cries.</p>
<hr/><p>Later that night, Buddy Aurinko gets roused from bed for the second time.</p><p>Not woken up for the second time, no. She’d hardly been able to sleep with everything on her mind. She’d kept a brave face for poor Juno, but…</p><p>She’s frightened. Her future with Vespa has been endangered, let alone the futures of the rest of her crew. She’s glad Vespa requested to sleep alone tonight. She wouldn’t want to have exposed her to this.</p><p>Peter Ransom stayed behind to see their reactions. Likely, he did so to convince himself he was in the right, to see Buddy brush over his betrayal with her usual combination of determination and optimism, and ease his guilty conscience. She can only hope what she’d done instead had convinced him to change his mind.</p><p>She can only hope, as she gets out of bed and opens the door.</p><p>There’s nobody there.</p><p>Then a voice from the shadows speak.</p><p>“Fine,” Peter Ransom says, “Come up with a plan to get me not killed, and I’ll listen.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[update a long while later] basically i dont think im going to continue this, but from here i wanted to have a conversation between peter &amp; juno where basically they decide to work on their trust/communication more before they get back into a relationship, confront some of the issues in the way they just. keep running away from each other &amp; while it hurts for the time being they do end up together &amp; much happier.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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